I'm Not Leaving Until I'm Sure You're Not Dying
by likefiction
Summary: Five times Will took care of Nico, and one time it was the other way round.


_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

 **1)**

"Nononononono!"

Along with the rest of the camp, Nico looked up in surprise as Will Solace lunged halfway across the dining pavilion to knock a plate out of his hand.

"What the hell, Solace!" he demanded, cheeks flaming as he offered a hand to the son of Apollo who was now sprawled at his feet, the slice of pie crushed in his hand. "I know you're into healthy eating and stuff, but don't you think that's a little too far?"

Will waved away his hand, standing up on his own. "You can't eat this," he said firmly, waving the offending dessert in the air. Crumbs dotted the backs of the nearest campers.

"Care to tell me why not?" Nico asked archly, raising an eyebrow.

"It has nuts in."

"Yes, it does," Nico said. "I believe it's called pecan pie for a reason."

Will rolled his eyes. "You're allergic to nuts," he informed Nico, as if it was something he should already know.

Nico stared at him. "No, I'm not."

"Well. Not all nuts. Just pecans, I think," Will amended.

"And _how_ exactly do you know this?" Nico demanded, very aware that he was still standing at the front of the dining pavilion, essentially the sole focus of the entire camp. He could see Chiron smirking.

Will shrugged, wiggling the fingers of his free hand. "Healer instinct?" he tried. Nico gave him a Look. "Okay, I might have done a couple of tests while you were in the infirmary-"

"Solace, I _swear to the gods-"_

"You hadn't had a full medical assessment since the 1930s, Nico."

"Well, excuse me for being trapped in a magical hotel for the better part of a century," Nico snapped. He grabbed a new plate from the table behind him, snatching a slice of chocolate brownie and shoving it towards Will. "Is this better?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Will watched him as he sat down at the Hades table again, glaring at the various groups now whispering animatedly. He shook his head, running a hand through his hair as he returned to his own table. His siblings stared at him.

"What?" he said defensively. "It's part of my role as a doctor."

Austin coughed, failing to hide the smirk on his face. "It's not that, O Fearless Counsellor," he said, pointing to Will's head. "You have pecan pie in your hair."

 **2)**

"Well then, O Fearless Counsellor-"

"Please stop calling me that."

Austin smirked. "Not a chance."

Will sighed, shoving the bandages back in the cupboard. "What is it, Austin?"

"There's a quest coming back in," Austin said casually. "I reckon they'll be coming straight here, they're pretty beaten up."

Will straightened immediately, glancing over to check that there were spare beds. "Which quest?"

Austin might have had a debatable bedside manner, but he was better at keeping track of every potential patient in the camp than anyone Will knew. "Dealing with a rogue hellhound. They sent Nico, obviously, and Lou-Ellen, and Isobel," he listed, counting on his fingers.

"Daughter of Nemesis?" Will checked. Austin nodded, and he frowned. "She sprained her ankle the other day. She was told to stay off it for a bit."

Austin shrugged, just as there was a thump outside. Will raised an eyebrow. "Did they mention how they were coming back?" he asked, following his brother out to the porch.

Austin shrugged. "Not sure. I guess they'd-" His face cleared as they saw Nico, leaning heavily against the wall as he tried to support Lou-Ellen, who was bleeding from a cut on her arm. Isobel stood to the side, obviously favouring her right ankle. "Ah. Of course."

"Nico!" Will scolded. "What have I told you about Underworld stuff?"

Nico glared at him, although it lacked the usual venom. He was very pale, and shivering even in the warm sunlight. "I'm fine, Solace," he muttered. "Take Lou-Ellen and Isobel. They're hurt."

"No, I'm not," Isobel said, making to walk off the porch. Austin caught her arm and turned her back to the door.

"Ankle, bed, now."

She swore at him and stalked in on her own. Austin shook his head and reached for Lou-Ellen, following Will back into the infirmary.

The older boy was already digging out some ambrosia, and he handed a chunk to Lou-Ellen. "It's not that deep," he said confidently, reaching for a bandage. "What happened?"

"A hellhound happened," Isobel snapped from across the room. "What do you think?"

Will sighed. "How'd you get rid of it?"

"Nico," Lou-Ellen mumbled. Will could see a bruise along her temple. "He did... something. I dunno."

Will frowned, pressing a magically cooled bandage to her head. "Hold that there," he said. "I don't think you've got a concussion, but-" There was another thump outside, and his eyes widened. "Nico?" He stood up, glancing at Lou-Ellen hesitantly.

The girl waved him away. "I'm fine, Will. Go get him before he breaks something."

"I'll deal with Izzy," Austin said easily, ducking the pillow the girl flung at him.

Will was back in a few seconds. He rummaged in a drawer for a moment, then headed back out, clutching a flask Austin recognised as unicorn draught.

"You need a hand bringing him in, O Fearless Counsellor?" he asked, shoving a piece of ambrosia into Isobel's mouth before she could yell at him.

Will shook his head. "It's fine, there's chairs," he said, backing away.

Austin smirked, fingers probing Isobel's ankle. "Quit squirming," he said. "And no, you can't leave. You might interrupt their moment."

 **3)**

"Fearless Counsellor."

Nothing.

"Will, wake up."

The blonde head shifted deeper into the pillow. Austin sighed.

 _"SOLACE!"_

Will ducked under his blanket. "S'not morning yet. Wake me up if there's an emergency."

Austin raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's a semi-conscious son of Hades on the doorstep. Does that count?"

Will's face reappeared, squinting under a spectacular bedhead. "Hades... s'Nico, ask him... Wait, _what?"_

Austin pointed. Will was out of bed so fast he hit his head on the cabin door.

"Hey, what's up?" Austin heard.

"Sorry," a smaller voice mumbled. "I- You said any time, and I just..."

"It's fine," Will said, so warmly you could almost forget it was three in the morning and he'd been asleep approximately forty seconds ago. "You going to tell me what's wrong?"

There was a sigh, shaky and nervous. A pause. "Tartarus," Nico admitted finally, and Austin stiffened. He knew Nico had literally been through hell, and he was pretty sure he was not supposed to be listening in. He dived back into bed, fishing around for his headphones, and did his best to look asleep when Will eventually came back inside.

 **4)**

"Nico, are you there?"

Will tapped on the door of the Hades cabin apprehensively. The green flames on either side of his head did nothing against the cold winter air. "Nico?"

He pushed the door open. It was barely warmer inside, and something about the row of empty beds was painfully lonely.

"Go away," a muffled voice snapped from the far end of the room.

"Are you okay?" Will asked anyway. "You didn't show up for breakfast. I know there's a cold going round, but I've got stuff for it in the infirmary-"

"I'm not sick," Nico mumbled. His voice was suspiciously choked. "Just go away, Solace."

"I'm not leaving until I'm sure you're not dying," Will said firmly.

He heard Nico sigh. "I'm not dying. Now go away."

Will frowned, but turned to leave. Until he heard a sniff. He paused, then reached out to shut the door loudly, staying inside himself.

The cabin was silent for a few moments. Then he heard another sniff.

"I'm sorry," Nico muttered, barely audible in the silent room. Will wasn't sure who he was apologising to, but there was something in his tone that made a shiver run up his spine. "I... Gods, I don't know what to say now." He laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. Alarm bells were going off in Will's head now. His eyes were becoming more accustomed to the gloom, and he could just make out Nico, hunched on a bed at the far end of the room. "I mean, it's not like I can talk to you anymore," he muttered. "It's not like I can talk to you ever again, and it's not fair, and I'm so sorry..."

He was crying, and before Will quite knew what he was doing, he was moving across the room. Nico glanced up, surprise flitting across his pale face, and Will sat down beside him on the bed.

"It's going to be okay," he began quietly, but he didn't get any further, because Nico gave a choked sound that could have been anything from a curse to a squawk, and almost instinctively, Will pulled him into a bear hug worthy of Mrs O'Leary. Nico froze for a moment, and then his shoulders began to tremble, and suddenly Will was holding an armful of clingy demigod, hot tears dripping onto his shoulder and shaky breaths brushing against his neck. He rubbed a smooth rhythm against Nico's back, murmuring things which sounded vaguely comforting, and waited.

Suddenly, Nico twisted away like a scalded cat, his face pale and horrified. His mouth opened and closed a few times. "I..."

Will ruffled his hair gently. "It's fine. Still want me to leave?"

Looking distinctly ashamed, Nico nodded hesitantly. "Sorry," he mumbled, fidgeting with something in his hands. It fell to the floor with a muted clatter.

Will reached for it as he stood. "I'll be in the infirmary if you need me," he said simply, dropping the little figurine back into Nico's hand.

 **5)**

"Oh look, Nico's hurt, Will can fix him, I'll take him to the infirmary!" Lou-Ellen chirped in one breath, swinging down from the climbing wall like a monkey to catch the son of Hades by the arm. He hissed in pain, pulling away.

"You did that deliberately," he muttered, tugging at his charred sleeve to examine the burn running up his forearm.

Lou-Ellen grabbed his other arm, dragging him towards the infirmary. "What? How could I deliberately make you burn your arm when we're both on a climbing wall which just happens to be dripping with lava?" she asked innocently, attempting to link pinkies with him.

Nico batted her hand away. "You can, just like you can make people trip over, walk into things, and 'accidentally' drop sharp objects. You need to stop doing this, Lou. I kind of need all my limbs."

Lou-Ellen rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a baby, you'll be perfectly fine. Will can fix you up easily enough."

Nico pulled away. "I'm fine," he muttered unconvincingly. Lou-Ellen prodded the burn, and he gasped, clutching the arm to his chest. "Leave me alone, you witch."

"Not until you've let Will have a look at that burn," she said, dragging him across the commons, interrupting a basketball game. "Excuse me, medical mission coming through, thank you!"

Nico's face turned scarlet. "Lou-Ellen, I'm _serious_ -"

"I only have your best interests at heart, Nico," Lou-Ellen said sweetly. "Come on, in you go."

She yanked the door open and shoved Nico into the infirmary. He stumbled, catching himself on somebody's shoulder.

"Oh, hey, Nico," Austin said, looking nowhere near as surprised as he should. "What is it this time?"

"Climbing wall," Nico muttered curtly, showing Austin his arm.

Austin hissed sympathetically. "Will!" he called. "Your favourite patient's back again!"

"What?" Will emerged from a side room, a pair of headphones tangled with the stethoscope around his neck. "Oh, right. Hi, Nico."

"Climbing wall burn," Austin said officiously. "Right forearm. No biggie for someone of your talents, O Fearless Counsellor."

Will rolled his eyes. "Nico, I'll be with you in a minute. Just go sit on a bed for a bit. Austin, stop calling me that. And Lou-Ellen," he raised an eyebrow as the girl froze in the doorframe, "could you do me a favour and put this back?" He unhooked the stethoscope from around his neck, tossing it across the room. "I was trying to work out where it goes, but Austin's filing system's a little..."

"Creative," Austin suggested.

"...erratic," Will finished. "Thanks."

He disappeared into the main infirmary. Lou-Ellen stared at the stethoscope in dismay. "Austin, tell me where it goes."

Austin laughed. "No can do, Louise. Your plan, your punishment."

Lou-Ellen's eyes widened. "He knows about the plan?"

Austin raised an eyebrow. "Considering you've dragged Nico in here eleven times in the last week and refused to leave until Will shows up, yeah, I'm pretty sure he knows something's going on."

Lou-Ellen groaned. "He's going to kill me. They both are." She twisted the stethoscope between her fingers, and a grass snake fell to the floor and slithered away. "And it isn't even working," she said despairingly, nudging it towards the door with her toe.

Austin smirked, glancing towards the infirmary smugly. "Who says it isn't working?"

 **+1)**

"Hey, Nico, old buddy, old pal." Nico jumped as someone draped an arm around his shoulders. His hand flew to the sword strapped to his belt, and Austin jumped back hurriedly, hands held up in a gesture of peace. "Woah! Don't shoot!"

Nico raised an eyebrow, slowly replacing his sword in the sheath. "What do you want, Austin?"

Austin shrugged. "Fearless Counsellor-"

"You mean Will?"

"Our Fearless Counsellor, yes, is literally working himself into the ground." Austin paused for a moment. "Well. Not _literally_ into the ground, but I don't think I've seen him spend this much consecutive time awake in a while. I think he's trying to outdo the satyrs in coffee consumption. The last time he was like this- actually, you probably wouldn't remember, would you, seeing as you were ninety percent shadow at the time."

Nico shook his head. "Why are you telling me? Can't you set up a rota or something?"

Austin threw up his hands dramatically. "Oh, we've tried. He's practically barricaded himself in the infirmary. You've got to help us, Nico."

Nico blinked. "What do you want me to do?"

"Talk to him, tell jokes, strip, I don't know, just do something before he ends up in a bed himself."

"What makes you think he'll listen to me?"

Austin shrugged. "You listen to him, don't you?"

And that was how Nico found himself trudging up to the infirmary door for the first time in almost a month, a record since deciding to stay at camp.

The door was unlocked, not that he'd been expecting otherwise, and Nico stepped into the room to find it almost completely empty. Only one bed was occupied, and Nico could see Will hunched in the chair beside it.

"Will?" he asked quietly, coming up behind him. Will's head snapped up.

"What?" He whirled round, hurriedly standing when he saw Nico. He caught the other boy by the elbows, scanning him anxiously. "Nico? Are you okay? Are you hurt, or sick, or-"

"Will, I'm fine. I'm checking up on _you_ , you idiot. Nobody's seen you for days." He frowned at Will worriedly. The healer was paler than Nico had ever seen him, with bruise-like shadows under his eyes. He let go of Nico slowly, taking a step backwards. His hands were shaking slightly.

Nico shook his head. "Will, when was the last time you slept?"

Will shrugged, a hesitant, jerky movement. "Couple of days, maybe. I don't know."

Nico sighed. "Okay." He pushed Will back into the chair and stood facing him. "Tell me what's going on."

Will swallowed, pointing to the person lying in the bed beside him. "I can't leave her alone," he muttered. "She only arrived a few days ago, and she's been unconscious ever since, and I can't just let her wake up on her own, I can't." He met Nico's eyes for a second, storm-blue and worried. "Please tell me you understand."

"Who is she?" Nico asked, glancing down at the girl. She had dark hair, almost as curly as Hazel's. Something in her face reminded him a little of Bianca, in the soft smile traced on her lips, even asleep.

Will shook his head. "I think her name's Heather," he said. "I don't think she's older than ten or eleven. A satyr, Luke Evergreen, brought her in, but they were pretty much ambushed. He... he didn't make it."

Nico nodded. A part of him wondered if he should try to take Will's hand, try to comfort him somehow. He had never seen anyone look so miserably exhausted, and yet there was something achingly familiar about the expression on the healer's face.

"Okay," he said eventually. "You go over there." He pointed to a bed a few spaces away. Will looked confused, but did as he asked. "Now lie down and get some sleep."

"What? No! I have to-"

Nico sighed. "I'll watch the girl, you idiot. Look, people are worrying about you."

"About me?" Will looked as if the thought had never crossed his mind. "What-"

"Austin seemed to think you were planning on staying in here until the next great prophecy, and frankly, you look about as good as I did last summer." He glared at Will, tapping his foot against the floor. "Bed, Will. Now. I promise that I'll wake you as soon as she opens her eyes."

Will blinked twice, mouth opening and closing silently. Then he nodded, took off his shoes and flopped onto the bed.

He was asleep before Nico could drag a chair round to watch both beds, and almost twelve hours later, when the girl finally woke up, it was to the sound of a soft "Solace! Will, she's awake, get your floppy head in action," and the purple glow she later learnt was a blessing from Hecate fading away to show two pairs of eyes peering at her in relief, one blue, one brown.

* * *

"So, seeing as the campfire's about to start, I guess that's pretty much it," Lou-Ellen said a couple of days later, finishing the tour in the middle of the common. "It's completely and utterly insane, but it's home."

Heather nodded. "I like it," she said, following Lou-Ellen and the other campers to the campfire. Two figures caught her eye from the back of the crowd; the blonde doctor, and the dark-haired guy who'd been in the infirmary when she'd woken up. She tapped Lou-Ellen on the shoulder and pointed. "Who are they? I never caught their names."

Lou-Ellen followed her gaze and grinned. "Oh, that's Will, son of Apollo, and Nico, son of Hades."

"Funny combination," Heather said thoughtfully, watching the blonde guy- Will, she assumed- attempting to ruffle Nico's hair, and the other boy seemingly vanishing into thin air to reappear several meters away, in the shadow of a row of seats. "Are they, like, dating, or something?"

Lou-Ellen smiled, pulling her towards the rest of the Hecate cabin. "Not as far as I know," she said. A wicked grin spread across her face as she glanced across at the two boys again. "But we're getting there."


End file.
